EUGENE — Tyson Coleman stepped on the scale Sunday morning
and continued to be surprised at his growth.

Oregon's redshirt freshman linebacker weighed in at 225
pounds, up from 207 at the start of the season and 199 when he first arrived on
campus in April 2011.

The added weight, he said, is a credit to his commitment in
the weight room and an improved diet, which includes heavy amounts of protein.

"No more junk food," the former Lake Oswego standout said.

Coleman's transformation doesn't stop with his weight.

A year ago at this time, football was temporarily taken away
from Coleman, a penalty imposed by the team as consequence of his arrest in May
2011 from a minor-in-possession incident near campus.

Though redshirting at the time, Coleman was not allowed to
practice during December last year, often a crucial time for development of
young players. Worse yet, he was barred from traveling with the team to the
Rose Bowl. (Typically, the entire team — including walk-ons and redshirts —
travel to bowl games, even if they aren't expected to play.)

"That hurt a lot," Coleman said. "But it also helped me out,
because it made me reconnect with the reason why I'm here and that's to play
football and go to school."

Coleman reemerged in the spring with a newfound
determination, and UO defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti pointed to Coleman's
interception return for a touchdown in the spring game as a major
confidence-booster for the young linebacker.

This fall, Aliotti said Coleman improved as much as anyone
on the team.

Entering the Jan. 3 Fiesta Bowl against Kansas State,
Coleman is listed as the backup for Boseko Lokomobo — his roommate — at outside
linebacker. Coleman appeared in all 12 games during the regular season and finished
with 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, and he's also been a force
on special teams.

"Talk about a guy going from the outhouse to the penthouse,"
Aliotti said. "It's incredible. And the beauty is he's just a redshirt
freshman."

Coleman said he's just now fully grasping his place in the
overall scheme of the defense.

"I'm extremely pleased," Coleman said. "I feel like I worked
hard and I changed my overall attitude about everything. I bought into the
system they have going here, and it paid off for me."